Critical Thinking & Technology Assesment > Research Hierarchy > Mini-Quiz #4

Mini-Quiz: Research Hierarchy

The term "cost-effective":

suffers from having an imperfect definition
is always used appropriately in the literature
means that a technology is both more effective and less costly than its comparison technology
always means that a technology is appropriate for clinical practice

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Which of the following results may be reported by patient outcome studies?

costs to society
diagnosis probabilities
change in quality-adjusted life expectancy
sensitivity and specificity among other factors

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What is the hierarchal order of clinical research (from lowest to highest)?

cost-effectiveness, patient outcomes, therapeutic efficacy, diagnostic thinking efficacy, diagnostic accuracy efficacy, case studies
case studies, diagnostic accuracy efficacy, diagnostic thinking efficacy, therapeutic efficacy, patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness
patient outcomes, diagnostic accuracy efficacy, therapeutic efficacy, diagnostic thinking efficacy, cost-effectiveness, case studies
case studies, therapeutic efficacy, diagnostic thinking efficacy, diagnostic accuracy efficacy, patient outcomes, cost-effectiveness

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This type of study comprises as much as 90 percent of the literature, and is prone to many types of biases.

case studies & case series
diagnostic accuracy efficacy
cost-effectiveness
therapeutic efficacy

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The purpose of diagnostic accuracy efficacy studies is to:

determine if a diagnostic test is able to detect the presence or absence of disease
determine how a treatment plan is affected by the use of new technology
to describe in detail the clinical applications of the technology
weigh the expected benefits of a technology against its expected costs

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